The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- Could the Rangers put a bunch of players on waivers? (1:25)
- MLB is considering rules to keep starting pitchers in games longer (10:30)
- The Braves lose Austin Riley to the injured list (24:05)
- The Cubs release Héctor Neris (29:50)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Will any players be placed on waivers before September 1 who could help? (35:15)
- How much longer do the Tigers stick with Javier Báez and what holes will they be looking to fill in the offseason? (41:00)
- If Pete Alonso walks in free agency, what will the Mets do at first base next year? (49:40)
Check out our past episodes!
- The White Sox Fire Their Manager, Víctor Robles Extended, And The Marlins’ Front Office – listen here
- Fallout From The Trade Deadline And Mike Trout Injured Again – listen here
- Trade Deadline Recap – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Baez is an embarrassment at the plate. Looked atrocious in his return to Wrigley last night. Albatross contract. So much wasted potential, so hard-headed and uncoachable.
He received a very nice reception though.
Regarding Baez, it would be a better strategy to trade albatross contracts rather than just cutting him.
Find a bigger contract, like Stanton, for example? That would warrent including a top prospect or two coming to Detroit in the deal.
The Yanks would.be more.inclined.than Detroit to shed payroll…..IF they want Soto, that is…..
No way the Yankees are giving you a bat that can still hit AND top prospects for baez, even if they are saving money it just makes no sense at all.
Baez role moving forward has to be purely a late inning defensive replacement at SS or 2B. That’s it. They are not going to just release him and swapping bad contracts would be unlikely and won’t solve anything.
I agree with Steve about the pitchers. I don’t think it’s contradictory to both lament some of the cool parts of baseball from decades ago while acknowledging that new strategies help a team play more efficiently. The goal isn’t for the starter to go a long time, at the end of the day, rather it’s to win the game, and teams are just going with what they think will optimize their chances of doing that.
Rudy – How do you know the teams are correct in using their current SP approach?
Is the high rate of pitcher injuries a form of efficiency?
What are the odds that all 5 or 6 relievers brought into a game will pitch well?
What percentage of the 240 relievers are actually successful?
How many scoring opportunities are being wasted because the bloated 13-man pitching staffs force a very short bench?
How much worse is team defense because the bloated 13-man pitching staffs force a very short bench?
Part of critical thinking is understanding the many ways in which decisions impact a team.
FPG,
Rudy didn’t say he knows teams are correct in the current SP usage. He said teams are doing what they think will optimize their chances of winning.
Gbs – To me this part here leads me to believe he agrees with the current approach: “while acknowledging that new strategies help a team play more efficiently.”
Smoke – That’s quite the bizarre rant, so I guess all I can say is …. thanks for the entertainment?
Smoke – I’m good at figuring out former players here, this should be fun!
Obviously Tigers ….. not Aurelio, he’s dead ….. not The Bird, he’s dead ….. so maybe Ron LeFlore? Octavio Dotel? CJ Cron?
Drop me some hints!
Smoke – Well thank you for your service.
Requiring starters to go 6 innings is a horrible idea. Velocity and spin get guys out so pitchers are not going to dial that back in order to get through 6 IP. A lot of things would have to change in order to make a 6 IP rule work.
Tiger – You’re missing the point, a 6 inning rule would force pitchers to actually pitch rather than just throw the ball as hard as they can for as often as they can. Thus reducing pitcher injuries as well.
Tigers will add a SP this off season. Scott Harris has been quite open about being a place for pitchers to come and rehabilitate their career. They did it with Lorenzen in 2023 and Flaherty in 2024. So they will sign that type of pitcher for 2025.
tigerdoc: Maybe he can rehabilitate Keuchel. That pitching school he went to didn’t work.
This is the most unserious comment here.
The Mets should not sign a 1b, long term with Clifford and Guerrero in the minors. Vientos even thou he’s young should be their everyday DH, In the offseason they should try to trade McNeil and Marte and replace them with either Acuna or Jett Williams at 2b and with all the $$ coming off the books sign Soto (RF) , Corbin Burnes as our Ace, maybe Christian Walker at 1b if he takes a 2-3 year deal, maybe give Severino another 1 year deal and have a rotation of Burnes, Senga, Severino, Manaea and Scott.
I really like your pitching rotation, but hope Pete doesn’t walk, with the down year he is having, may be they can sign him cheaper.
Of those 5 starters mentioned, only two will likely be in the Mets rotation next year – Senga and Scott.
The driving force behind rule changes is scoring. MLB office wants more offensive production. As much as Manfred deserves criticism, this started with Selig and the owners. Owners first and foremost, as Selig was interim Commissioner for a while.
How many rule changes over the years has directly helped pitchers? Any rule change that has helped pitchers has really helped position players primarily, such as take out slides/contact breaking up double plays. This 6-inning idea is absolutely absurd.
A couple things here: I think most pitchers take the mound every time out expecting and thinking they will go at least 6 innings. It’s just not the reality in today’s game though and I don’t like taking the managers control over his pitching staff away. Here’s an idea.
If the object is to have the re-emergence of the starting pitcher and put an emphasis on actually pitching and not velo (in turn reducing injuries), how about they institute an “elbow protocol” sort of like a concussion protocol where there is a mandatory significant amount of time you miss with an elbow related injury. This might deter guys from velo chasing and protect guys from themselves
A better idea is to ban all arm/hand protection on hitters who enjoy crowding the plate. That will push hitters off the plate (a little), force them to stand in a more protective hitting position, change their “launch angle” approach and they’ll buckle a lot more on curves and sliders. Shin guards on hitters are fine, full facial coverage on helmets are fine.
On top of that, raise the mound back to 15 inches like it was prior to 1969. We will see pitchers go deeper. Will hurt scoring the next year or two until they adjust their hitting approach.
I’m amused there are at least two comments here saying pitchers today aren’t actually “pitching.” They throw with more movement than ever before, associated with amazing velocity. They’re pitching, throwing, whatever you want to call it better than ever before.
Point out the part where any of us said pitchers today aren’t pitching. The one thing pitchers do better today than ever before is take time off on the IL.
While there is absolutely no way to mandate a 6-inning performance from a starter, and it wouldn’t even improve the game, the idea that the pitcher replaces the DH when the starter is pulled seems reasonable.
In addition to motivating the manager to keep his SP in longer, it might add a little missing strategy to the game. I still like the idea that a pitcher should know how to sacrifice.
Baez is a bewildering talent. He has immense physical abilities. His defense is still pretty decent – better than anything the Tigers can seem to muster up. Kreidler/McKinstry were disasters earlier this year when given the opportunity to take the job when Baez was out.
At the plate, he is frustrating to watch strike out AB after AB, again and again, on pitches in the LH Batter’s Box. Then he blasts 3 HRs in a row just to tease you with the potential power in there. Were he to ever make an adjustment the way rookie Colt Keith has learned to do, maybe he could tap it more regularly.
In Chicago, AJ will probably play Baez, as the one trait Javy has that doesn’t play in Detroit is “Bright Lights, Big City.” That seems to be the ONLY time he is able to perform well; when he’s being overly-cheered-for, or overly-booed. Too bad the Tigers paid millions to a guy who can only get up for one team, the White Sox, because they boo him mercilessly.
After this week, he’ll probably just play sporadically the rest of the season while Sweeney gets the bulk of the PT.
What about 2025? Sweeney full time? Kind of scary, but why not? Throw him out there. Throw McGonigle out there in 2026. Their next, good SS seems possibly to be Rainer, MAYBE by 2027.
What Would Mike Ilitch Do? Sign Willy Adames this offseason. You can always trade him when a Detroit-produced SS is finally ready for prime time.
With the talk of losing the DH when you pull the SP I am wondering for the NL guys that did not want the DH how do you feel about it now? Interested if anyone that was adamant against it have changed their mind after a few years of it.
Senor,
Your trashing Baez’s character with no evidence to support your accusations. This leads me to believe your character is much worse than you think his is.
I for one enjoyed hearing Dan Dickerson for a change yesterday. I imagine Dan Petry enjoyed not having to respond pleasantly to an endless stream of inane puns & jokes. Odd thing, I later caught part of Fox’s game being done by Smoltz & Benedetti. Benedetti wasn’t nearly as tedious as he is on Tiger broadcasts. I wish Chris Ilitch or Bally Sports or ANYONE would tell him to TONE IT DOWN.
He seems to forget, people tuned in to watch a baseball game……he seems bored with it and wants to talk about other stuff…..
All the time… .
Javy on 10-Day IL, Kreidler up.
Yay – Sweeney/Kreidler platoon @ SS for at least 10 games.
The Mets sign Goldsmith away from the Cardinals and the Cardinals are in on Alonzo